Do I dare ask this question/Pit attacks my neighbor

What I am going to say and have said in the past is, no more is a human in danger of being attacked and bitten by a pit bull than he/she would be of ANY other breed of dog. And even LESS likely.

 
Not to defend or attack the breed, but is that true?  Not because of a genetic trait, but IF these dogs are more likely to be raised as fighting dogs and not trained or socialized, then it would seem that the likelihood of getting bitten or attacked by a PB are greater.  What are the odds that you'd walk down a streat, any street, and come across another breed that had been trained to fight?  My point is that irrespective of the genetic traits of the breed, if they are the breed most likely to be owned by the types of people who aren't going to socialize them and might even encourage them to be aggressive, then that makes the chances of an attack more likely, no?
 
 

ORIGINAL: maizysmom

This would apply to all breeds than? I don't think so. I hate to say this, but maybe if one of you got attacked by one, you would feel differantly. Trained or not,responsible owner or not, they can not be trusted, no differant than any other dog---but their strength is very powerful and their determination is proven in how they jump a fence or dig under a fence just to attack.

Well, then.
What do YOU think we should do?
Kill them all? Would you rather that some authority figure walk into my house, take my pit bull and kill her because, why, you simply cannot trust pit bulls.
Like it's ONLY pit bulls you cannot trust, but EVERY OTHER dog breed is trustworthy.

ORIGINAL: maizysmom

This would apply to all breeds than? I don't think so.  I hate to say this, but maybe if one of you got attacked by one, you would feel differantly.  Trained or not,responsible owner or not, they can not be trusted, no differant than any other dog---but their strength is very powerful and their determination is proven in how they jump a fence or dig under a fence just to attack.

I was attacked by a GSD as a child--if they had bitten an inch lower I'd be dead.  I've been chased by 2 GSDs.  Both of my dogs (including the pit bull) have had GSDs come after them, the one who came after Sally knocked his owner over to do so--luckily she had wrapped his leash around a tree before he knocked her over.  Jack had one go after him when he was 12 weeks old--it longed at him snapping.  His owner had to take him away for him to stop going after Jack.  The *most* dog aggressive dog I know (and I live in a neighborhood full of pit bulls) is a GSD.  He nearly killed a 10 week old puppy and latched onto an adult boxer with such force that they had to hit him in the face repeatedly to get him to let go.  However, I do not make sweeping generalizations about GSDs because that would be foolish.

I looked up dog.com's info on pit bulls, and while they said that they can be aggressive towards other dogs, nowhere did they call them "aggressive."
Perhaps you should reread the info: http://www.dog.com/breed/American-pit-bull-terrier.asp

Aggressiveness towads other dogs is also mentioned by dog.com for dobermans: http://www.dog.com/breed/Doberman.asp

The bull terrier's info mentions that it does not get along well with other dogs or catshttp://www.dog.com/breed/Bull-Terrier-colored.asp

They state that Akitas are "unreliable" around other dogs:http://www.dog.com/breed/Akita.asp

In the Rhodesian Ridgeback section they state that ridgies "Can become too aggressive."   http://www.dog.com/breed/Rhodesian-Ridgeback.asp

So do you have issues with all these breeds as well?

For the true American Pit Bull Terrier breed standard (including temperament) and history see [linkhttp://mail.ukcdogs.com/ukcweb.nsf/80de88211ee3f2dc8525703f004ccb1e/33B2281CE2CB81CA8525704D004CFA98?OpenDocument]here[/link].

Any game, driven, somewhat largish (though pit bulls really aren't big dogs) breed of dog is going to have a potential to inflict serious damage if they do aggress. Pit bulls are really not all that bizzarely unusual in this respect. Lots of breeds have powerful jaws (dogs are predators, lest we forget), a drivey, game temperament (you can't have a successful working dog without that), and are bigger than a bread box.

Mark my words folks--when pit bulls are banned, one of two things happens: the hoodlums who get poorly bred human-aggressive pits in oder to look like badasses will continue to do that anyway, despite the law. Or, another breed will get ruined instead by these same douchebags (pardon my french). It happened with german shepherds and dobermans in decades past. It's happening with the pit now. As long as there are irresponsible, law-flouting, over-testosteroned, gang-banging hoods, there will be dangerous aggressive dogs. The breed is immaterial. The problem is with the people.

you never know when a dog will snap

That is true, but when a dog does something like attack someone unprovoked, you have reason to believe the dog will do it again in the future. A lot of the gruesome attacks you hear about on the news are "repeat offenders" - stupid, irresponsible owners who have vicious dogs and do nothing about the ticking time bombs in their back yards. That's not a breed problem, it's an owner problem - my dog has seriously bitten people in the past, but I've taken action to prevent future incidents. If you're going to have a dog that has exhibited aggressive tendencies, you have to be THE most responsible dog owner on the planet because if you are aware of your dog's issues, you are responsible for any damages it does. Why was that proven-aggressive dog left unsupervised in the back yard? Why were there not warning signs in the yard? Why was the fence not better secured so the dog could not break out? Why was it not euthanized after the first time it attacked someone unprovoked?

I'm really sorry to hear about your neighbor. I agree with you - that dog should never have been given back to its owner.

ORIGINAL: cakana

What I am going to say and have said in the past is, no more is a human in danger of being attacked and bitten by a pit bull than he/she would be of ANY other breed of dog. And even LESS likely.

Not to defend or attack the breed, but is that true?  Not because of a genetic trait, but IF these dogs are more likely to be raised as fighting dogs and not trained or socialized, then it would seem that the likelihood of getting bitten or attacked by a PB are greater.  What are the odds that you'd walk down a streat, any street, and come across another breed that had been trained to fight?  My point is that irrespective of the genetic traits of the breed, if they are the breed most likely to be owned by the types of people who aren't going to socialize them and might even encourage them to be aggressive, then that makes the chances of an attack more likely, no?

 
Dogs that are trained to fight are trained to fight OTHER DOGS.  If these dogs that are the killers everyone says, how come Vick and all the other savages who fight dogs aren't dead.  Yes Pit bulls are sometimes dog aggressive, so are a lot of other prey driven dogs.  I have a pit he is terrified of my SIL's chihuahua's.  He doesn't even growl if a dog provokes him.  Any dog is capable of biting.  I had a golden retriever that bit someone.  The above mentioned dog has abnormal aggression issues and sadly should probably be put down, because some human ruined him.  Very rarely if any dog is born aggressive like that.

Mark my words folks--when pit bulls are banned, one of two things happens: the hoodlums who get poorly bred human-aggressive pits in oder to look like badasses will continue to do that anyway, despite the law. Or, another breed will get ruined instead by these same douchebags (pardon my french). It happened with german shepherds and dobermans in decades past. It's happening with the pit now. As long as there are irresponsible, law-flouting, over-testosteroned, gang-banging hoods, there will be dangerous aggressive dogs. The breed is immaterial. The problem is with the people.

 
This I agree with 100%!! 
 

Well, then.
What do YOU think we should do?
Kill them all? Would you rather that some authority figure walk into my house, take my pit bull and kill her because, why, you simply cannot trust pit bulls.

 
I'm not sure what the answer is and I would never, ever want anyone to come into your home and take Ella away.  I understand your passion about the issue and the only way to change people's perceptions is thru education and stricter enforcement of the laws.

Greetings,
 
American Pit Bull Terriers are not bred to be human aggressive.  During the days of dog fighting a Pit Bull was culled if it ever showed signs of Human Aggression.  The handlers wanted to be able to get into the ring to pull the dogs aparts without having a chance of being attacked.
 
I've been viciously attacked by Doberman's... 3 of them pulled me from my bicycle when I was a kid and went to town on my knee.  I required stitched.  I don't blame the dogs for what they did, I always blamed the owner for not having them trained properly or chained up.
 
The dog the original poster is talking about should have been put down the 1st offence, while the owner should be cited an not allowed to own a dog of that or a similar breed in the future.  The county you live in should have some better rules when dealing with these issues.
 
The PROBLEM with the APBT is that they are an "In Style" breed right now.  It once was "cool" and seen as a symbol of "Power" or "Strength" to own other breeds like the Doberman or German Shepards.  All dog breeds get a bad rap from those who only use them for their status symbol or money (bad breeders).
 
I think it would be wise for our government to implement laws against Puppy Farms.  Either that or we need to somehow educate the people interested in buying the breed to understand that the breed should not show signs of human aggression.

And that's why you all need little fluff balls like mine. 
 
joke, btw.... intended levity
 
The truth is a large breed dog can do a lot of damage.  A small breed dog can do a lot of damage, but it is less likely to do so to a normal, healthy adult.  There are cases where small dogs do seriously maim or kill.  You'd be foolish though to not acknowledge that larger, more muscular dogs are more likely to do more damage when they do attack.  I don't see anyone saying that pit bulls attacking or biting is not serious and that they can't do that much damage.  I don't see people saying that pit bulls DON'T attack people on occasion.  So can a lot of dog breeds.  Think of the number of pits and the number of bites.  There's tons and tons of pitties in the country.  They've been bred out the wazoo.  Whenever you get over breeding of a breed, the temperament in general goes to crap.  It happens with idiots wanting little toy dogs too.  People think of the $$$ or the image and forget what they're actually doing to the breed.  That's why so many little dogs are nasty and so many pits are human aggressive.  It has to do with image.  The truth is while a lot of crappily bred dogs with bad temperaments are being bred, many members of both groups are really GOOD dogs with GOOD owners.  (Majority in my experience anyways)  You notice the bad ones more than the good- that's just the way it goes with the media and all. 
 
I've seen my old GSD/Golden do a lot of damage to a GSD in a dogfight before.  He was not usually dog aggressive, but the other dog was loose and got in our front yard.  We had to break up the fight.  If he were in bad hands, maybe he could've been one of those dogs you hear about.  Who knows?  But in the right hands, he was a great pet with no real aggression issues, just extremely protective of his property.  (This is why you leash your dogs when you walk them) 
 
During that time the GSD was the evil dog breed.  I guarantee if you get rid of pit bulls, then some other breed will be next- dobes, rotts, GSDs, American Bulldogs, labs, I don't know.  It'll be some medium to big, well built dog.  Then once that is gone, it'll go down the list.
 
When we get to where papillons are the butch breed of choice, we'll know something is seriously wrong.  (Another poor attempt at levity)

Every Pit Bull I have met, in our sport of agility, has been nice.  I have been in obedience classes with them and agility classes.  We have been attacked in class three times over a period of about 10 years.  Twice by Pit Bulls and once by a Yorkie.  The instructor requested that the dogs wear muzzles or not come back to class.  All three owners declined having their dogs wearing muzzles.
 
I am sure I could easily fall in love with a Pit Bull.  I would not want one, because in the places I like to go, they are usually not welcome and that would make me feel bad.   I want my dogs to be welcome.  
 
I think the "locked jaw issue" is missing the point.  The important thing is, when a owerful dogs grabs the throat of another dog or a human, and you cannot pry it off, there is a good chance it will kill its victim.  I resent the fact that because there are so many Pit Bulls or Pit Bull mixes roaming the streets, I no longer have the freedom of walking my dogs in 80% of the places we used to enjoy.   I would be annoyed if the situation was the same with attacking Yorkies, however I would not be fearing for my dogs life.

ORIGINAL: maizysmom

What I'm saying is (I don't know how to do that quote thing where you bring up the page-sorry} no I don't think the breed should be banned.I merely am saying that you owners refuse to believe it IS an aggressive breed.I think they are adorable and frankly,years ago,we went to a guy's house in regards to a car. When we went into the house, there was a dog underneath the dining buffet. He never moved.I tried to get him to come out, but he wouldn't.At that time ,there was no talk of pits, so I had no idea what I was dealing with. Now,I am very cautious in approching the breed in shelters. Some are very loving---but why are so many in shelters? Look at the story above.

And again, a well bred (heck, mine's not even well bred, but she doesn't have a single human enemy) APBT should NOT be human aggressive. Dog aggressive? That's entirely different.

Don't generalize aggression.

Personally, I approach every dog I don't know as a potentially aggressive dog, regardless of breed. Which would of course include NOT trying to engage with a dog hiding under something. That's a clear sign of an undersocialized dog and one that should definately be regarded as potentially dangerous. I don't care what breed it is.